My sincerest apologies for the lateness of these two chapters. I had a lot on my plate lately, including finals at my college, girlfriend stuff, family and completely rewriting huge chunks of these chapters. I am ready to post now though.

One quick note first. Through some study of the Alliance's military rankings, I realized Ralston's rank in the previous chapters was too high. So I have retconned it from major to lieutenant so it works better for the rest of the story.

Once again, a huge thanks to DinoJake for all the work he does. If you are not reading The Last Spartan, DigiDorks, or any of his other work, check it out.

I also would love to put out a few plugs of my own. For one, I have just started a new fanfiction story for TellTale's The Walking Dead Game titled A Life of Service. The first chapter is up for your viewing pleasure and the second will be posted within the next week.

And for any and all Academy Award fans or just general writers, I co-administrate a contest called "Bait an Oscar" where you pitch your dream Oscar winning vehicles for monthly competitions. Essentially, it is a simulated Oscar race with your own press section, campaigning and eventual awards given out. The contest is all for fun, so the real prize is the skills learned and the fun involved. Check us out on our site at Weebly (use your search engine to find it easier).

And with all of that done, here is the continuing adventure of Kyle Nolan and now his squad of ODST soldiers. This chapter will overlap Chapters 2 and 3 from The Last Spartan, offering a second viewpoint on the events that happened. It will be fun!

...

0942 Hours, February 14, 2683

SSV Tokyo

Patrolling the Hourglass Nebula

...

Private 2nd Class Devon Resolme felt everyone's eyes on him as he squared his feet into an attack stance. Don't panic, he told himself. The young Filipino focused his vision down the front range and took a deep breath. He was definitely taking this way too seriously, but Noah always said no one should slack off when they're a greenhorn. Every move you made during that first year of service would either earn you respect or make you the butt of the mess hall jokes.

His hand twitched as he hovered his hand over his folded M-3 Predator pistol. He could feel a couple beads of sweat trickle down to his eyebrows. Don't panic, he said to himself again. Yeah...he was taking this way too serious. It was just the morning routine. One that made him the center of attention for all his ODST squad mates and the ship's marine detachment. He suddenly regretted waiting to be the last one up for Lieutenant Nolan's impromptu exercise. His squad leader could toy with him for as long as he wanted before he put-

Right at the moment he thought that, a holographic practice dummy materialized down range. The private panicked as he reached down and fumbled unfolding his pistol. Two seconds gone. He had to make the next one count. Within a split seconds he aimed his sidearm from his hip and fired.

A buzzer sounded off from the range's speakers. The dummy stood their out in the open with a red light flashing over its crotch.

"Well...that is technically a disabling shots," the lieutenant remarked, prompting some chuckles from the other soldiers.

The private slumped his shoulders and groaned. He was aiming for the head...

The lieutenant moved from the wall he was leaning against and walked over the group. The private sighed and turned to face his squad leader, anticipating whatever criticism he was rightly due.

Instead, the lieutenant looked over to the other soldiers who were chuckling.

"Now, correct me if I'm mistaken," the lieutenant said. "None of you actually hit the target, did you?"

That shut everyone up.

"Thought so," the lieutenant said. "The best soldiers the ODST and Alliance Marine Corps can churn out and you got outshot by an FNG."

Resolme suppressed a smirk as he patiently waited where he stood. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all...

Kyle wasn't about to let Resolme off the hook for panic firing, but the private did hit his target. He had a feeling Resolme had some latent talent within that scrawny frame of his, which was why he conveniently set up this little competition during their morning practice. Still, two seconds may cost the private his life in a real battle, so he figured he would incorporate that into his little lecture he was about to give.

"We have a duty to humanity's protection," he said to the group. "If you can't hit a target quick drawing a pistol, what good will you be with any other weapon?"

"...this is bullshit," he heard one of the marines murmur quietly. Not quiet enough, though.

"Who said that?" He said sternly to the group. "Who's the feckless maggot who said that?"

The group was quiet for a second before two marines backed away from another, whose look of surprise outed him immediately.

"Seriously guys," the marine complained to the other two.

"You," Kyle said pointing to the marine. "Identify yourself."

"...um, Private 1st Class Paterson, sir," the marine replied.

"Please repeat to the class what you just said, private," Kyle said crossing his arms.

Paterson awkwardly looked to the group, clearly not getting any support, before he cleared his threat and continued. "Sir...with all due respect, is this necessary? I mean, it's just cowboy tricks."

Kyle smirked at the private's remarks. Yeah, this was going to be good.

"You're absolutely right, Paterson," Kyle said. "I noticed there was a distinct lack of tumble weeds and busty saloon babes while we were doing these 'cowboy tricks.'"

A couple soldiers chuckled as Kyle unfolded his Razor and twirled it in his fingers gunslinger style. "Let me ask you all a question. How long does it take a stray round to pierce a skull?"

No one replied. Clearly not because they didn't know, but Kyle rolled wth it as he made a zero with his other hand.

"That long," he emphasized. "We're so spoiled with our cutting edge kinetic barriers that we forget that there's only so much punishment they can take. A trained sniper with a Widow or Mantis rifle can shatter a barrier with one well place headshot."

He lightly tossed his Razor in the air, caught it with his other hand and twirled it more as he continued. "The only thing we have in this life is time. And when we enter a battlefield, one second can determine if you come home with a medal or in a body bag. If you're going to defeat your enemy, you have to be that much quicker than your open. Even if that means shaving off one second on your reaction time."

He holstered his pistol, opened his omni-tool and tapped a few buttons. Even this little lecture was a matter of time, which he hoped to prove shortly.

"It's about focus," he said losing his omni-tool and pacing down the firing range line, mentally keeping up with the timer he just set. "It's about patience. It's about knowing that any moment, you have to be ready to-"

At that moment, another dummy materialized on the range.

"-strike!"

Like a flash, Kyle unfolded his pistol and quick fired from his hip, striking the dummy right between the eyes. Two more dummies materialized in rapid succession, both of which Kyle hit with surgical precision within half a second of each other. A couple of surprised gasps from the group showed that he got his point across.

He twirled his pistol again before holstering it and holding up another zero with his fingers.

"That much," he said. "Your enemies will be strong and they will be fast. So you have to be even stronger and faster. We're not Spartans or superheroes here. There's no super soldier serum waiting for you behind a locked door. All we have is good old-fashioned human ingenuity and reflexes. It doesn't matter if you're using a Revenant, a Volkov or a damn Carnifex. If you can hit someone between the eyes from the hip, you can take on any challenge. You're the best the Alliance has to offer. Prove it."

He waved a hand to the firing instructor, figuring he had taken enough of their time today. "Alright, I gave my two cents. As you were."

The group moved back to the firing line. Kyle met Private Paterson's eyes for a moment, who didn't look particularly grateful to be singled out from the group but didn't seem angry either. He shrugged as the private went about his morning routine. He figured the private would thank him sometime in the future.

Now about that greenhorn of his...

"Resolme," he called out, which caused the private to rush over to him immediately.

"Yes, sir," the private said standing at attention.

"First of all, chill out," Kyle said, which promoted the private to slump his shoulders. "Second, don't think you're off the hook. Three seconds is way too long to pull out a pistol."

"...yes, sir."

Kyle looked back to the group listening to the firing instructor and them back to the private. "Hitting the crotch on your first try is pretty good. Next time we have our own squad practice, I'll give you a few pointers. I'll expect at least a chest shot before that hour's done, though. You can do it."

"Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed," Kyle said.

Resolme rejoined the group as they lined themselves up for their standard target practice. One of the female soldiers from his squad walked over to his side and leaned on the wall next to him.

"Remind me to give you that lecture next time you miss a shot," she said with a smirk through her British accent.

"The day that happens, I'm retiring," Kyle joked back.

"Yeah, sure you will," she replied as they looked over to the rest of the squad. "You think the kid's got something?"

"He's ODST, Asha. If you make it that far, then you got something."

Kyle genuinely meant that. It was part of the reason he liked being a fly on the wall during practices that he wasn't in charge of or involved in. He could use that time to visually survey his squad and see things he wouldn't be able to otherwise. The ODST prided itself with its combat diversity and he felt he had a strong little group at the moment.

On the far right side of the range, he watched as Corporal Tu'uta Tangilanu unfolded his shotgun and take aim down range. Most of the soldiers Kyle knew that hailed from the Pacific island of Tonga usually fell into one of two categories: tall and muscular or short and stocky. Tangilanu was neither of those, with a frame that would be perfectly average for most non-islander humans. However, the guy was a damn good technician and Kyle made sure to take full advantage of that whenever he could. Sometimes it was worth having the guy with brains when the brawn couldn't cut it.

A little further to the corporal's left was Sergeant Julianne Emgelbrektsson, who took a couple potshots with her assault rifle down range. Biotics were still an oddity for humanity, since they hadn't existed in their culture nearly as long as they did with Asari, Krogan and the other Council races. However, being able to toss around people with your mind like a rag doll proved to be an appealing skill for the ODST. While there weren't many biotics currently serving in regular rotation, they were an integral support unit for any ODST squad worth its salt. Her last name was still a mouthful to say though. Then again, it wasn't often you met someone whose name literally meant 'angel breaker.'

Then there was that Peruvian son of a bitch Jared La Rosa to her left, who jokingly attempted to hip fire his sniper rifle at a dummy. La Rosa had not served with the squad for very long, but his prowess with a sniper rifle was well known among the ranks due to his history as an arena combat superstar. Kyle knew Jared had the skills to back up that celebrity, though he wished the corporal would put as much effort into shooting targets as he was shooting off his mouth.

Resolme was closer to Kyle than the rest of them, which was surely not a coincidence. The kid had only been in their squad for a few weeks, but he wasn't a slouch. He clearly wanted to succeed and even with a few rough patches, he had some high recommendations following his training period. Kyle just hoped these few hiccups were just the private having a slight struggle transitioning to the big leagues. He could tolerate that over incompetence.

And then there was the lovely smartass next to him. Operations Chief Asha Beckett, a British born Sri Lankan soldier, had served alongside Kyle longer than anyone else in the squad. So when Kyle had to decide who to make his second-in-command, she was the no-brainer choice. It helped that she was also very driven, good at following orders and taking her own initiative. And if Kyle needed a second opinion, she was a dependable person to ask. Not that he needed second opinions that often…

"Bridge to Nolan," a voice sounded off in Kyle's earpiece.

"Nolan here," the lieutenant replied putting his fingers to his ear.

"The XO wants to speak with you in the Comm. Room."

"What for?"

"Didn't say."

Well…that peaked Kyle's interest. The XO would usually just talk to him through the comm. piece or in person, so this must be either super important or something bad for him.

"Alright," he said. "I'll be right up."

"Roger that," the person on the other end said. "Over and out."

"The boss wants a word?" Beckett asked Kyle.

"Something like that," he replied moving from the wall. "Make sure everyone returns to their post when they're done."

"Yes, sir," she replied walking back to the firing range.

Kyle casually strolled off the range and made his way to the elevator, nodding to the requisitions officer on the way. Poor guy just had to wait around in that same area waiting for whenever someone took a break to either request purchases for the ship or just browse the personal items. An unenviable position to some degree.

The doors slid close and Kyle began the slow…ever so slow…ascension to the ship's main floor. Plenty of time for him to ruminate over his squad and his responsibilities for them. They were all good soldiers, even the Greenhorn. He hoped they would become the best soldiers someday. He did momentarily feel bad showing off the way he did, but it was all part of that dichotomous nature of teaching. On the one hand, you had to be approachable so people wanted to learn from your example. On the other, you had to prove you were worth having an example set. He rationalized that a little showmanship was part of the job description.

That said, he wasn't the best example. Hell, twenty years serving in the ODST and he's still just a 2nd Lieutenant. Not that he couldn't have done better. He certainly earned those promotions he turned down, but he figured there were better soldiers who deserved them more. But why would someone turn down the chance to get those paygrades? Someone either really stupid or who really didn't care about the money. Kyle wasn't sure which one he was…

The elevator doors slid open and Kyle stepped out just in time to see the man he was looking for. He clearly arrived sooner than expected based on the XO's reaction, which it was hard to catch a soldier like that man off-guard. Though time had hit the XO with the back end of the ugly stick, he was still as authoritative and intimidating as the day Kyle met him. His graying hair and deep wrinkles spoke of a man who had borne the weight of the world on his shoulders, even long after he stopped doing ground missions. Not to say he couldn't pack a wallop when he needed to. That was just the person he had been ever since Shanxi.

"Those kids still misbehaving down there?" The XO said extending his hand and smiling.

"No more than usual, Ralston," Kyle replied shaking his hand.

Staff Commander Dominic Ralston was an inspirational story for the ODST. Though the troopers had suffered more casualties than expected during Shanxi's first wave, Ralston rallied the remaining forces to deal considerable blows to the Turian forces in several key skirmishes. Kyle would have been a part of that had he not been folded into Anderson's squad early in the war, but he was happy to work alongside the XO again. Like Anderson, Ralston had ascended the ranks to represent the ODST in more places than the front lines and he was pretty damn good at it.

"In all seriousness," Ralston said motioning Kyle to follow. "How are they doing."

'Exceptionally well," Kyle replied as they entered through the nearby door. "Expect anything less?"

"If someone I trained is teaching them, then hell no."

The two of them strolled past a couple marines standing guard nearby, who saluted the officers and returned to their regular position in no time flat.

"Did the bridge say anything specific to you?" Ralston asked Kyle.

"Nope. Just that you wanted to speak to me."

"Good…"

This behavior seemed unlike the XO. Kyle couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something had occupied Ralston's attention. It better not be anything that could hurt Kyle professionally…

The two of them entered the Comm Room, which lit up upon their arrival. It was a standard Comm Room for most Alliance cruisers, with a holographic video feed reserved for the commanding officer and chairs arranged in a circular pattern in the center. He knew there was a table that folded out from the center of the chairs, but no one needed to use it that often. It made the room feel unnecessarily cramped.

Ralston and Nolan sat at two closest chairs, with the XO giving his omni-tool a check check as the rooms doors locked.

"…am I in trouble, sir?" Kyle asked shifting in his seat.

"I would have yelled at you two minutes ago if you were," the XO replied.

The two of them chuckled, though for Kyle it was mostly out of relief.

"Is Anderson joining us?" Kyle asked.

"He's taking a private call in his quarters. There's…a development happening," Ralston said before clearing his throat. "Ok, I should be less vague. Fleet Command has ordered us to regroup with the Fifth Fleet immediately."

"Oh…" Kyle replied surprised. "Where are we headed?"

"The Ismar Frontier."

That caused the lieutenant to raise an eyebrow. "…no offense, but what's so important that they need the whole fleet? The Frontier's full of crap planets."

"Normally yes, but Fleet Comm. got word that a Turian exploration vessel found a derelict human ship floating by one of the planets.

A human ship in the Frontier? That was about as weird as the Turians wanting to report its discovery to the Alliance. Still, it didn't seem that urgent.

"I didn't know we had ships patrolling the Frontier," Kyle said.

"We don't…" Ralston replied right before he dropped the bomb. "It's an UNSC frigate."

That explained a lot. He figured that they had salvaged all the defunct UNSC ships, especially those destroyed during the Human-Covenant War. It was possible that one of those ships was pursued through Slipspace like the Pillar of Autumn and was unaccounted for. Maybe it was a straggler from an unreported attack. It would be hard for something like that not to be noticed, but those errors did happen now and then. Whatever the case, the Alliance would be interested in recovering such an artifact, especially one that was intact.

"We're short on exact details," Ralston continued. "Everything we discuss here is on a need to know basis. What I want you to be aware of though is that the Captain wants us to be ready to…'exhume' any sensitive information that may be on board. We're lucky the Turians haven't raided it, but we can't take any other chances."

Kyle nodded understandingly. The last thing they needed was another race to stumble upon sensitive information looting confidential military records or weapon codes. Especially with the Frontier's tendency to attract Batarian and Jiralhanae pirates.

"We've already plotted a course for the nearest relay," Ralston said standing up. "Meet me here tomorrow and I'll fill you in with more details as they come. Dismissed, lieutenant."

Kyle saluted the XO and the two of them parted. An antique UNSC ship floating in the Ismar Frontier that may contain information so sensitive they're calling the entire Fifth Fleet to collect it? He figured it must not be very often that a piece of history comes knocking at your doorstep…

After a couples days of travel, the Tokyo arrived at the Frontier with the entire Fifth Fleet. The Brass wasted no time ordering them to lock down the system. Patrols were established to prevent any unwanted visitors, with some ships parked around the relay for good measure. Others were assigned to more menial tasks, like scanning nearby planets for minerals and mapping out some of the remaining unexplored regions. The Tokyo, however, was at the heart of the scene. Hell, they were figuratively a stone's throw away from the derelict ship alongside several other cruisers.

Among those cruisers, to Kyle's consternation, were a couple Turian ships and the exploration vessel responsible for the discovery. He knew it was purely a political move to not take away the Turian's credit for the discovery, but the Brass didn't have to invite more ships for this occasion. In any other instance, the Council would label this as a 'strictly human matter.' He would tell them to screw off if he had the authority, but that was out of his hands.

The man who could have partially made that decision had left in a Kodiak shuttle fifteen minutes ago. Admiral Hackett had personally requested Captain Anderson to meet him on the Mt. Everest, the fleet's flagship. Things were still on a need to know basis for everyone on the ship, which made it hard when everyone really felt like they needed to know. The fact Kyle had not received any additional information despite Ralston's promise was starting to concern him too.

There was not much he could do about that though, so he figured he would enjoy his breakfast as much as he could. Anderson had requested his squad to be set aside for whenever they got the greenlight, with the rest of the crew taking their responsibilities for the day. Kyle decided to use some of that off-time to share the details Ralston authorized him to share.

"UNSC?" Tangilanu exclaimed. "For real?"

"Honest to God," Kyle replied, holding his hand up in mock solemnity.

"Do they know which one?" Engelbrektsson inquired.

Kyle shook his head. "The captain went over to discuss that with the admiral, so we'll find out soon enough."

"Wow…" Tangilanu said beaming. "An honest to God UNSC frigate. You know my grandfather fought in the war, right?"

"No one's forgotten how grandpa Tangilanu wrestled the Covvies with his bare hands," La Rosa interjected. "You only tell us about it once a week."

"I don't remember asking you, Jared."

"Then don't shout rhetorical questions in an open forum. Oldest extranet rule in the book."

"Whatever. Still, didn't they account for all the ships lost in the war?"

"Lost or destroyed?" Beckett asked.

"Technically the Covvies destroyed every ship they came across, so that's irrelevant," Tangilanu clarified. "But most of the ships were tracked through the UNSC databases. It's not like someone could 'misplace' a ship that easily."

"It's possible the answer's so obvious that you're overthinking it."

"I'd like to think I know what I'm talking about."

"What, you're some kind of Human-Covenant War buff?" Engelbrektsson asked.

"Him and everyone with Extranet access," La Rosa added.

"Ignoring…" Tangilanu replied. "Were there battles fought this far out?"

"The Frontier wasn't even discovered by that time," La Rosa said. "So no, highly doubtful."

"What's highly doubtful?" Resolme then said sitting at the table with his freshly dispensed breakfast and joining the conversation.

"Your aim," La Rosa teased to Resolme's chagrin. "I kid, I kid. We're figuring out which ship our mystery frigate is."

"Who cares," Resolme sat with a mouthful of food.

"…awfully callous of you, greenhorn," Beckett said.

"No, I mean, who cares which one? It's one of our ships. That's cool enough."

"So…the Brass sent the entire Fifth Fleet to collect a ship because it's 'cool enough?'" Engelbrektsson inquired.

"…well…" Resolme started before deciding he had nothing to reply with.

"Regardless," Kyle said deciding to step back in. "Anderson expects us to be ready for whatever the Brass asks of us."

"Is there much to 'be ready' for?" Tangilanu replied. "I mean, unless there's super secret information on the hard drives, we'll just find a bunch of old weapons and tech."

"That ship has been wandering the cosmos for a hundred and thirty years. Anything could have wandered into it in that time."

"Sure," La Rosa piped in with that usual joking tone. "So if there's any chance a face hugging alien parasite wandered onto the ship, I know who to stand behind."

The squad chuckled.

"Ok, maybe not 'anything,'" Kyle corrected. "If anything, it's—"

"Nolan!"

Kyle jumped to his feet hearing Ralston's voice through his earpiece. It sounded urgent and the rest of the squad took notice.

"Nolan here," he replied.

"Report to the bridge immediately. Ralston out."

Well…that was brief. Which meant Kyle should not waste a second.

"Stay alert," Kyle said before leaving the squad and rushing up the stairs.

After one flight, he arrived at the CIC. Ralston looked over the shoulder of a technician at the terminal near the Galaxy Map before he noticed Kyle's presence. He motioned the lieutenant over, prompting the technician to step back as Kyle approached.

"Nolan's here, sir," Ralston said as Kyle came to a stop.

"Excellent," Captain Anderson's voice spoke through the terminal as a video feed materialized. "Kyle, we have a positive ID on the ship. It's…well, you should see for yourself."

Kyle studied the side of the ship being broadcasted from the video feed. The ship was definitely a war relic. It had been chopped in half by something beyond his guess and tons of debris floated in a slow orbit around it. The paint was still intact save for maybe a few flakes and, other than all the Kodiaks and fighters surveying the wreckage, nothing seemed unusual.

Until he noticed the name printed on the ship's side.

Both his and Ralston's eyes widened. It turns out the answer was as obvious as Beckett suggested. The ship wouldn't be immediately thought of as missing because technically it wasn't missing. It's just that no one expected to find the sections that weren't recovered.

"Get your squad ready, Kyle," Anderson said. "Assemble your marines too, Ralston. Anderson out."

Ralston and Kyle stood there awestruck for a moment before looking to each other. The mission suddenly became something much bigger and they both knew it. With a quick nod, the two of them left to get things ready.

"Everyone to the Kodiak now!" Kyle said to the squad over his earpiece as he picked up his pace.

This was history in the making. Something as significant as discovering the relays, the Prothean ruins and even Halo itself.

They had found the Forward Unto Dawn!

Kyle and his team sat quietly as their Kodiak shuttle traveled towards the Forward Unto Dawn. The last hour had been nothing if chaotic. News spread like wildfire of the ship's identity, causing a strange mixture of excitement and sobriety within the fleet. On the one hand, the objective of their salvage mission had dramatically increased. Admiral Hackett didn't even attempt to discuss recovering UNSC documents, though Ralston reminded Kyle to keep an eye out for those.

On the other hand, everyone ultimately knew what this mission entailed. The Forward Unto Dawn was a symbol of the Human-Covenant War in more than one way. It was one of the ships that fought alongside the allied Sanghelli against the Prophet of Truth in the Battle of the Ark. It was the ship that waited to leave to sure the Ark's destruction. And it was supposed to be the ship that brought back its heroes for a well-deserved rest.

Unfortunately, during its retreat back to Earth, the Slipspace portal collapsed onto the ship. This caused only one section of the ship to return, with the Sanghelli Arbiter as its sole occupant. Whatever remained of the ship was presumed lost in the fabric of Slipspace or left to rot alongside the debris of Truth's fleet. This also meant that it served as an unfortunate final resting place for the legendary soldier who was left behind.

Everyone knew that fact and that's what tempered the excitement. Still, God or whatever was out there willing, there was a slight hope in believing they would find the Master Chief's body and give him a real hero's burial. It was the least they could do.

Anderson and Hackett wasted no time organizing all the soldiers available in the fleet into search parties. No corner was to be left unturned in their search for the Chief. Kyle wasn't too fond of shaking up the squads in the parties, however, since that left him without his sniper and technician. Still, he had Resolme, Beckett and Engelbrektsson by his side on the Kodiak. They just had to put up with working alongside Private Peter Wallis, Gunnery Chief Gisele Trover and Corporal Timothy Michael from the Tokyo's marine detachment. Not that they would be the worst people in the world to talk with on the way over.

No one seemed particularly chatty though. The reality of seeing the Chief's corpse seemed to come upon them hard, as everyone awkwardly stared down at the floor or looked off to the side. Kyle wanted to say something to perk them up. They were going give the most famous Spartan in history his well-deserved rest. Hell, humanity might not be around if it wasn't for him.

Kyle looked over to Beckett to approve of his potential pep talk. She seemed to understand his intentions immediately, as she gave a nod of approval.

Before Kyle could open his mouth though, someone beat him to the punch.

"I wouldn't have been born if it wasn't for the Spartans," Engelbrektsson said breaking the silence.

Everyone's attention was drawn to her as she continued. "My great-grandparents lived in the outer colonies when the Covenant invaded. My great-grandfather was part of the militia helping evacuate his colony's civilians. Before they could load the final shuttle, several platoons of Kig-Yar and Sanghelli broke through the defenses and fired on them. He used to say he could vividly remember the stink of plasma melting people's limbs off and the sounds of militiamen being gunned down."

This was more somber than Kyle had hoped for, but he found himself captivated enough to not interrupt.

"A Covenant Carbine shot struck him while he helped a woman to safety," she said pointing to her side. "His insides were screaming as he fell to the ground and his vision was blurry. All he could think to do was get back up and buy time for the remaining civilians before he died. Right before that happened though, he saw these two…'giants' come out of nowhere and charge headlong into the Covenant. He had never seen Covvies retreat like that before, but he didn't doubt why. He always said that Spartans were like Terminators. They had no fear in battle. They moved with mechanical precision. They could take a shitload of punishment that would kill most anyone else. And until the day he died, he was convinced that they really were the robots they seemed to be."

She slumped her shoulders forward. "Anyway, the Spartans held the line long enough for some men to pull great gramps out and path him up. If that didn't happen, my grandpa wouldn't have been conceived. So in a way, I owe Chief my life and he hasn't even done anything."

The group felt silent again as she finished. That was a lot better than whatever canned pep talk Kyle had planned.

"The Chief, man…" Resolme said struggling to find the right words. "He deserved better than this."

"He does," Kyle said. "He'll be buried with honors and that part of history will have closure."

"What if he's not there?" Everyone's attention shifted to Beckett as she continued. "What if he never made it back to the ship? I mean, all we have is the Arbiter's testimony. There may be nothing left but dust and echoes."

"…then we'll bury the dust," Kyle said crossing his arms. "There's going to be a memorial one way or another. It's too important not to."

No dared speak against that for the remainder of the trip.

"Approaching the Forward Unto Dawn," the Kodiak's pilot said through the intercom as they arrived.

Everyone took turns peering out the window to see the ship fill their view. Kyle was amazed at how cleanly the Slipspace portal had sliced down the Dawn's hull. There was a neat precision in the way certain machines and parts were cut that was beyond human capability. Here's hoping the Chief wasn't caught up in that.

He motioned for everyone to put their helmets on, which they did quickly as the Kodiak made it's final descent. Each of the parties had an assigned floor and section of the ship to search, which would hopefully make the mission go by extra quickly.

"We're ready," Kyle said to the pilot, prompting the side door to slide open.

Kyle took point, leaping off the shuttle and allowing his magnetic boots to stick him to the ship's floor. Zero-G wasn't his forte, but he had enough practice to know how to navigate it. He waited to adjust to the new surface as the rest of the team followed his lead. One by one, they magnetized to the floor and allowed their TEAMCOM to sync together.

"I'll be waiting right here when you need me," the Kodiak's pilot said.

"Copy," Kyle replied unfolding his prototype M-96 Mattock.

The rest of the squad unfolded their weapons, with everyone immediately switching on their gun flashlights. Even these little lights couldn't shake the slightly eerie environment of the ship. Most of the power was completely out, save for a few independently running systems and machinery. All sorts of objects floated every possible direction, adding an uneasy motion to the comparatively still environment.

Kyle shone his light into the nearest room, revealing nothing of note. Still, it was better safe than sorry. With all the mysteries left unexplored in the galaxy, finding La Rosa's parasitic aliens was as plausible as anything else at the moment.

"Engelbrektsson! Resolme!" Kyle said pointing into the next room.

The two troopers moved ahead guns at the ready, disappearing into the room as they began searching. Trover and Wallis approached the sides of the doorway while Nolan, Beckett and Michaels waited for the all-clear. The troopers' lights danced along the wall, making the room appear much larger than Nolan had anticipated.

"Yup…still empty," Engelbrektsson cracked over the TEAMCOM.

Kyle assumed that was the all-clear as he led everyone else to rejoin his sarcastic troopers.

"All teams, check in." Anderson's voice then sounded through the TEAMCOM.

"Team Bravo, standing by," Kyle replied through the channel while waiting for the other teams to report in.

"Roger that," Anderson continued after they finished. "We're starting now."

Kyle took a moment to open his omni-tool and set a map marker for this room. If anything were to happen during the search, they at least could retrace their way back to this spot.

"Ok," he said turning to the team and pointing as he issued commands. "Engelbrektsson, take Resolme, Trover and Wallis that way. The rest of us will search the other way. Don't stray too far, don't do anything stupid and don't get too misty eyed over this. If you find the Chief or anything else critical, report to me immediately. Sound good?"

Everyone winked green on the TEAMCOM.

"Good. Let's roll."

And the search began.

Kyle took the lead as the two teams split up. The Dawn was a pretty big ship, but he figured it couldn't take too long with this many teams. If it did, then he could enjoy the sights along the way.

And what sights they had to see. Aside from the Slipspace damage and all the loose parts, most of the interior made the Dawn look fresh from the shipyard. Kyle wondered how valuable some of the salvage from the ship would be...if anything still worked.

"Whoa!" Michaels said grabbing a floating rifle.

"What?" Beckett asked.

"It's a BR55HB SR Battle Rifle," the corporal replied folding his own weapon and testing the gun in his hands. "It hasn't been fired."

"Watch where you point that, corporal," Kyle cautioned.

"Don't worry, it's not..." Michaels started until he saw the loaded clip. "Well, it's still cool."

For the next forty minutes, the team poked around every possible corner they could find. At one point, they ended up where they started and had to turn back around. They certainly got to soak in the sights, while Kyle remembered how...archaic pre-Alliance ship architecture was. Everything was rougher in design, built to be sturdy than effective. There were more corners, rough edges and blocky design than anything you would find in the current fleets. Still, this was cutting edge design when it was made. None of their stuff would be around today without it.

Michaels bypassed a locked door and led them into what looked like the crew quarters. Save for one loose mattress, the bunks and beds were still bolted to the wall in their neat little rows. Personal items and trinkets floated all around, including an old school computer that likely fizzled out years ago. Kyle could only imagine the poor marines who were stuck sleeping in these rooms back in the day.

"Corporal," Beckett snapped as Michaels grabbed a couple of the floating items.

"What?" Michaels replied inspecting an old school watch. "No one's looking for this stuff."

Kyle rolled his eyes as he opened a TEAMCOM channel to the other team leaders.

"Tell me someone's found something," he sighed.

"Negative."

"No."

"Not yet."

"Uh-uh."

"Nope."

He closed the channel and they continued their search. Someone should have found something by now and yet here they were still searching. Maybe they'll have to bury dust after all.

"Sir," Beckett then said to Kyle through a private channel.

"Yeah?"

"Back on the shuttle...sorry if I spoke out of line."

"Nah," Kyle sighed. "It's fine. It needed to be said."

"I just...I can't stop thinking about it. Like, what if the Chief was sucked out of an oxygen vacuum when the ship sliced in half. He might be rotting in the center of the galaxy by now."

"Well...the Chief survived the war. I doubt he would go out that quietly."

"True. So maybe we need to think like a Spartan."

"Hm?"

"Well..." She started as they entered a new hallway. "If the Chief didn't die when the portal closed, he would have followed UNSC rescue protocols. He must have known it would take years for anyone to pick up that transmission, so the only place he could have waited that long was-"

"Hey guys!" Michaels interrupted.

"...yes?" Beckett asked opening up their public channel.

"I was just thinking. Why don't we try the cryo room?"

"...uh, yeah. Good thinking, corporal."

"I know, right? I figured that would be the place I'd go if I was stranded."

Kyle nodded opening a new channel. "Engelbrektsson, you guys found the cryo room?"

"No sir. You think the Chief's there?"

"Maybe. Keep your eyes peeled," Kyle said closing the channel and turning to Michaels. "Lead the way."

Michaels continued the search as Kyle saw Beckett cross her arms.

"I thought of the cryo room first..." she murmured into a private channel.

"I'll note that in my report," Kyle said as they followed Michaels.

Fifteen more minutes passed without any sign of the cryo room. It might not have been in their part of the ship and it was possible one of the other groups already found it empty. Still, it was worth the effort.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyle spotted the markers for Engelbrektsson's group approaching their position. He flashed a light their direction to signal their approach as the two groups met again.

"Anything?" Kyle inquired.

Engelbrektsson shook her head.

"Alright," he sighed. "We should check in with the other teams."

Before he could open a channel though, someone in the group called out.

"Hey!" Trover called out from a little further back. "Over here!"

The team double-timed it to her position, or as much as one could in zero-G.

"Look!" She exclaimed pointing her light to a nearby wall.

A lone sign was floating where her light rested. It didn't seem that significant until thy noticed the words 'Cryo Chamber' printed in big letters below other room labels. Next to it was an arrow pointing diagonally downward. A quick survey of the area revealed only one thing that could have matched that: a stairway leading to the floor below with its sign missing!

"Pay dirt!" Kyle quietly exclaimed as he looked to the team. "Move it!"

Everyone hurried down the stairs. The excitement of the search was starting to come back now that they had a lead. This was too perfect to be a red herring.

Once they reached the floor, the team scoured it with their flashlights. The room couldn't be very-

"There!" Michaels shouted shining a light to the nearest door, with the words 'Cryo Chamber' printed above.

They found it!

"Get that door open," Kyle ordered as Michaels and Wallis ran to the nearby console.

A few excited seconds later and the door hissed open. What they then saw was...kind of peaceful actually. The chamber looked relatively calm even compared to the rest of the ship. The color tone was lighter, due to the lights and gadgets that somehow managed to preserve power. Save for two detached pods, the other cryo pods lined the walls in an orderly fashion. And aside from that, this was looked so well maintained that it someone inside might never have guessed the ship was damaged.

What drew the most attention, however, was what was at the center of the back wall. All the other pods were in some kind an energy saver mode except for one that shone brighter than the others. There was something inside!

Engelbrektsson moved the detached pods aside with her biotics as the team approached the functional one. Frost covered the windows looking into the pod, obscuring their view inside.

Kyle made his way past the team and moved to the window. He took a deep breath as he reached out his hand to wipe some of the frost aside. Moment of truth...

There wasn't much they could do about the ice inside of the pod, but Kyle's quick brush along the window revealed everything they needed to see. He stepped back and shone his flashlight inside for the others to see.

"Holy shit..." Michaels said awestruck.

Kyle was right about their too. Laying motionless inside the pod was the Chief, adorned head to toe in his signature green armor with that yellow visor. Never in his wildest dreams did Kyle ever think he would ever see one of the original Spartan 2's, but here he was.

"You're seeing this too, right?" Resolme asked Trover as everyone but Kyle and Beckett huddled around the pod.

"He's so...tall," Engelbrektsson said at a loss of words.

While everyone else murmured at their discovery, Kyle and Beckett gave each other looks of surprise. Any other day, Kyle would have gloated over being right. Yet the moment was still sinking in and all he could feel was...peace. The Chief's vitals likely went out long ago, considering cryo wasn't meant to sustain a person for that long. That was somehow very comforting to think that one of humanity's greatest heroes passed away in their sleep. No pain. No agony. He just slipped into the endless night of space. It was simplistically poetic in the best way.

Seeing that neither of them had words to explain their feelings at the moment, Beckett walked over to admire the Chief and Kyle opened a TEAMCOM channel to the team leaders.

"This is Team Bravo," Kyle said. "You reading me, Team Echo?"

"Team Echo here," Captain Anderson replied. "Go ahead."

This should have been a time to think of something witty or iconic, but Kyle simply beamed as he responded.

"I think we've found him, guys. We've found the Chief…"

Codex Entry (Alliance): Forward Unto Dawn – History

A Charon-class United Nations Space Command light frigate, the Forward Unto Dawn was assigned to the Home Fleet when the Covenant invaded Earth. Following the invasion's first wave, the Dawn was designated the fleet's flagship under the command of Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood and led the counterattack that culminated in the Battle of Tsavo.

During the battle, it was revealed that the Covenant's Prophet of Truth had uncovered a Forerunner Dreadnought buried on Earth. Truth and his remaining forces entered a Slipspace portal with the Dreadnought in hopes of activating a space station known as The Ark, believed to be some form of super weapon. Under Admiral Hood's orders, the Dawn led a joint attack to thwart this plot, with a small army comprised of a UNSC Task Force and the Sangheili Separatist Fleet of Retribution.

Though the ensuing battle claimed the lives of Commander Miranda Keyes, Sergeant Avery Johnson and numerous soldiers, Truth and his forces were defeated before they could activate The Ark. While the remaining UNSC and Separatist forces retreated, Spartan 117 "Master Chief" and the Sangheili Arbiter stayed behind to ensure station's destruction, using the Dawn as their means of evacuation. However, during their escape, the Slipspace portal collapsed. The Dawn's bow, carrying the Arbiter, was the only section to return to earth. The Master Chief and the Halsey AI Cortana have been listed as 'missing in action' ever since.

The Dawn bow is currently on display at Earth's Imperial War Museum in Cambridgeshire, England. A petition to give it a commemorative tour within Council space is still in talks.

On to Part 2!